Burlington School District considers branding

Thursday

Several versions of logos used across sports, some posing trademark issues

The Burlington Grayhounds logo may change in the near future as the school board considers the district's brand.

Discussion among school board members about rebranding the district began Monday following a presentation given by David Ruehs, an associate principal at Burlington High School who pointed out inconsistencies of logos throughout the district, as well as potential copyright infringement issues.

"We have three different dog images which have been used across the district," Ruehs said.

One of those images bares a striking resemblance to the one used in the University of Indianapolis Greyhounds logo, which is trademarked. Ruehs said to his knowledge, the university has not contacted the school district about the issue, but he pointed to other school districts in Iowa that have had to change their brands due to similar situations.

Among them is the Okoboji School District, which had used a design like that of the University of Oregon until 2014 after the university took issue with the copyright infringement. The result was a mastermark from which multiple elements can be pulled to create various designs, called submarks, while maintaining a consistent and cohesive look.

Ruehs pointed to Charles City, which rebranded its logo to create a cohesive brand, and West Des Moines Valley, which had used tiger clip art along with Virginia Tech's "VT" before ultimately changing it to a new trademarked logo of its own.

Ruehs also spoke of the many styles of paw prints that can be found throughout the high school, as well as varying shades of purple and grey. Additionally, the baseball team's "B" for Burlington is the same "B" as what is used by the Boston Red Sox, just in a different color.

"Our current reality is fragmented identity and brand," Ruehs said. "That's a lack of brand recognition when we have all these different images identifying us as a school district."

There's also the logo the district uses on its vehicles, which depicts the Great River Bridge next to the words "Burlington Community School District." Ruehs said he has spoken to people who have confused that logo with that of they city's.

"I've talked to a lot of people who have waved thinking it was one of our mechanics, but then it's someone from the city in one of their trucks," Ruehs said. "The vehicles look very similar with bridges on them."

Ruehs also brought up folders that had been sold with school district logos on them that another company got money for.

"We had no recourse because nothing was trademarked," he said, adding that trademarking the district's brand would generate money for the district's general fund.

Board vice president Darven Kendell said he wasn't concerned about royalties from using a trademark, but he did express concern over local screen printers being able to access the design for use on products. Board president Bryan Bross noted a trademark would allow the district to grant access to the logo at its discretion.

"The mastermark allows us to keep the rights and if we choose to give it away for free, then we give it away for free," Bross said.

There was another incident in which Athletic Director Zach Shay had gotten a call from a local restaurant wanting money for a fundraiser an organization using the school district's logo had put on.

Ruehs remarked on the district's "right-sizing" and said this would be an opportune time to come up with a unifying brand.

"We're in the middle of the right-sizing process. We're going from neighborhood schools to community schools now. We are changing athletic conferences. We're getting out of the MAC and getting into the Southeast Conference," Ruehs said, adding that all schools within the district also are now Grayhounds.

He brought up three options the school district could pursue, one of which is to do nothing. Another would be to put out request for proposals from outside entities with prior experience in trademarks and design to lead the branding process.

The board members appeared generally enthusiastic about the idea of coming up with a cohesive brand.

"Continuity, unity, singular image, I think it would be a great idea," Kendell said.

Board members Marlis Robberts and Deborah Hatteberg, however, expressed concern about using general fund money, which is used to pay for expenses such as teacher salaries and benefits, to pay for such services from an outside firm.

"I want a teacher in the classroom if we have to choose," Hatteberg said.

Ruehs said he had spoken with one firm about what it would cost and, though he could not say the exact amount quoted because it was not an official bid, it would be a fraction of a teacher's salary. He said community involvement was a component of that estimate.

Grayhounds logos throughout the district could be replaced over time as equipment is replaced at its regular schedule.

Another option would be to form a committee and design it in-house, which would allow for more community involvement and be less costly. One drawback would be that it could lead to trademark issues.

Board member Dean Vickstrom suggested a community design contest.

"What would be the harm with getting the community involved in a contest to come up with a brand?" Vickstom asked, noting they could put a time limit on design entries and that, if none of those worked out, the district could go another route. "If you want to get the community behind it, you get them coming up with the logo that we would use."

He also brought up the possibility of having art students work on the design.

"We've got a lot of creative kids in art, and I don't think they've ever considered coming up with a logo for our institution," he said.

Robberts said a contest could be worked into the process, but advised the district seek out pricing information from third party entities to ensure the resulting logo is trademarked properly. Options for funding the branding operation also could be explored further. Ruehs suggested the Purple & Gray Foundation may be interested in putting money toward it.

Superintendent Pat Coen asked Human Resources Director Lacy Johnson to consult with the Greater Burlington Partnership on how they do their branding.

In the meantime, Ruehs will put out more requests for proposals to get pricing estimates.

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